Random musings and no pictures

Blogger will not let me put up my Halloween pictures. That darn rainbow circle just whirls and whirls until choking and letting me know an error has occurred. Close your eyes and imagine one little bride, a baby pumpkin, a little mouse, a not scary witch, and an even less scary wizard. There you have it, our family Halloween picture!

Secondly, for the curious, Dane had his 9 month (91/2 months) appointment. He tipped the scales at 18.5 lbs. (15th percentile) and 29 1/4 inches (75th percentile). He is Mr. Skinny man but at least has stopped falling off their charts. In other Dane related news, he hates to nurse and I am itching to wean him. However, he also hates bottles and formula (I've tried it in a sippy cup) so I'm feeling stuck. Maybe I'll just transition him directly to Cherry Pepsi, it seems to work for me.

I made rocking pumpkin cookies tonight. For the lucky gals in my Tuesday morning Bible Study, you will be the lucky recipients of these tasty vittles. (I used the word "vittles" the other night, in my best English accent, you know, to be hilarious, and I think Greg thought I'd lost my mind. What, you don't use that word every day either?) I am ending this post with the recipe for your dining pleasure. Have a happy week!

Pumpkin cookies

Cookie Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Frosting ingredients
1/2 cup butter, room temp.
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 Tbls. pumpkin puree
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar (about 4 cups)
Orange food coloring if desired

Preheat oven to 350. Grease or use parchment paper on cookie sheets.

To make cookies, in a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.

In a second large bowl, combine the shortening and brown sugar. Use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla, then mix until well combined.

Add half the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the other half and mix again.

Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets in 1 T mounds, arranging them 2 inches apart. Bake for about 14 minutes, or until lightly browned at the edges.

While the cookies bake, in a medium bowl combine the butter and maple syrup. Use an electric beater to mix until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Mix well.

Add the powdered sugar and mix well, beating until fluffy. Add the food coloring and beat until uniform. Set aside.

Once cookies have baked, let them cool for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack. When completely cooled, frost. Try not to eat all of them at once.